Star Wars_ Darth Bane 02_ Rule of Two - Drew Karpyshyn [28]
“You still don’t believe any of the Sith survived the thought bomb,” Johun guessed.
“I lack faith in the credibility of your sources,” Valenthyne replied. “These mercenaries are, to put it bluntly, the scum of the galaxy. How do you know they aren’t just telling you what you want to hear?”
“Why would they do that?”
Farfalla shrugged. “Maybe they think you will stand up for them. Get them better treatment as prisoners. A lesser sentence for their crimes. These people are opportunists. They will seek every advantage they can find. Lying is second nature to them.”
“I don’t think they were lying, Master,” Johun said with a shake of his head. “If you saw them on the surface … they were terrified! Something terrible happened to them.”
“This is war. Terrible things are a matter of course.”
“What about the details of their account?” Johun pressed. “The red-bladed lightsaber? The Force lightning? These are the weapons of the dark side!”
“If they were soldiers in Kaan’s army, they would be well versed in the tools the Sith use against their enemies. It would be easy for them to add these elements to any story they wanted to tell.”
Clenching his jaw in frustration, Johun spat out a harsh accusation. “You just want to believe the Sith are gone forever! That’s why you refuse to see what’s right in front of us.”
“And you want to believe the Sith still exist,” Farfalla countered, though his voice echoed none of the anger in the Padawan’s challenge. “You want to strike out against those who killed your Master. Your desire to avenge him has blinded you to the facts. If you were thinking clearly, you would see that there is one part of the story that calls the entire account into question.”
Johun blinked in surprise. “You have proof they’re lying?”
“It’s right there in the report you filed,” Farfalla informed him. “They claim that a Dark Lord of the Sith slaughtered their friends. But somehow they survived the encounter. How is that possible?”
“They … they escaped into the trees,” Johun stammered, knowing how foolish the words sounded even as he said them.
“You are a Jedi,” Farfalla admonished him. “You know the power of the Force. Do you really believe they could have escaped the wrath of a Sith Master simply by running into the forest?”
He would have hunted them down and butchered them like zucca pigs, Johun admitted to himself. “Maybe he wanted to let them live for some reason,” he suggested, still unwilling to surrender the point.
“Why?” Farfalla asked. “If a Sith Lord survived the thought bomb, why would he leave witnesses behind who could expose him to his enemies?”
Johun had no answer for this. It didn’t make any sense. But somehow he knew—he knew—the mercenaries were telling the truth.
“Johun,” the general said, sensing his inner conflict. “You must be completely honest with yourself. Do you really believe we can trust these mercenaries?”
Johun thought back to the prisoners in the cell and the endless string of lies pouring from their mouths. He thought about his own warning to the guard watching over them: Don’t believe anything they say. And Johun finally realized what a fool he’d been.
“No, Master Valenthyne. You are right. They can’t be trusted.” After a moment he added, “I … I would like to speak with Irtanna and Bordon when they get back. To apologize for what I did to them.”
“I’m glad to hear you say that, Johun,” Farfalla said with a wan smile. “We Jedi are not infallible. It is important that we stay humble enough to admit when we make a mistake.
“Unfortunately, apologizing in person will not be possible,” he continued. “I have been summoned to Coruscant to meet with Chancellor Valorum. Since you obviously cannot be trusted to follow my instructions in my absence, you will be accompanying me as my aide.”
The proclamation had been framed as a punishment, but Johun’s heart leapt at the words. In effect, Master Valenthyne